iMaginE…Creative Hubs are keeping people with memory concerns connected in Cornwall

Xanthe Breen

United Response iMaginE… Creative Hubs in Cornwall are weekly creative lead sessions providing stimulating and engaging activities designed to promote friendships, increased self-confidence, independence and improved health and well-being for those with memory concerns and cognitive impairment.

The hubs are based in Falmouth and Truro, with a further hub opening in St Ives this July, enabling people with memory concerns to express their thoughts and feelings through the creative process. Under the expert guidance of qualified support staff and local professional artists, each individual has the opportunity to learn new skills or develop new creative abilities.

Community life line

For many the weekly sessions can be their only form of social interaction and are a real ‘life line’ providing them with social, mental and physical stimulation.

Each session is designed to help promote improvements in personal well-being and health by allowing the formation of new friendships and building a trusting relationship with the staff and others in the group through support and care of one another. Everyone that attends the hubs is valued and respected, this in turns builds on a person’s self-esteem and confidence within their creative community.

Creating a network of support

Our creative hubs are the heart of a multi-faceted web of care, support and guidance system that is tailored to each and every person’s individual requirements, that creates mutual trust between people with memory concerns, their families and the professionals.

Everyone attending the iMaginE…Creative Hubs is able to obtain advice and support immediately, so that issues can be resolved in a timely manner and problems resolved before they develop and cause real concern.

By working in collaboration with healthcare professionals, care organisations and multiple interested parties throughout Cornwall, everyone involved in the weekly session has access to a network of guidance and support that develops with the individual.

One to one support

We know and understand that the iMaginE…Creative Hubs may not be for everyone, due to personal preference, desire or circumstances. We therefore offer our unique person-centred, creative professional support for people on a one to one basis within their own homes. This allows people and their families to access to regular social, mental and potentially physical stimulation of their own choosing.

Future plans

As well as opening a new hub in St Ives this July, in late summer, we will be working with AgeUK to offer group day trips to local places of interest in Cornwall, such as St Ives Harbour for fish and chips or a trip to the stunning Godrevy lighthouse.

We know that a person with memory concerns or cognitive impairment is still a unique and amazing individual with skills, experiences and attributes that are fundamental to society.

United Response want to reduce the stigma surrounding the effects of having memory concerns and cognitive impairment and a diagnosis of dementia.

Ahead of the release of the VODG report, ‘Closing the Disability and Employment Gap’, United Response’s chief executive Tim Cooper, spoke at the Learning Disability Today exhibition in London about closing the disability employment gap.

Related

United Response, a national charity, is inviting anyone with memory loss or dementia in the Truro area, and those caring for them, to an open day at the Royal Cornwall Museum on 2nd July, from 1.30pm-4.30pm, to introduce their Imagine … session.

75-year-old Sylvia is a lady living with dementia, whom we support in West Sussex. When she told support staff that her dream was to get married, at first they were stumped as to how they might help her to make this happen.

Become a support worker for United Response and help disabled people in their communities at home. You’ll help them cook, clean, pay bills, apply for jobs, make friends and a thousand things in between.

Easy News is the first news magazine designed to be accessible for people with learning disabilities, aimed to encourage discussion around news stories and keep readers informed about the world around them. Read the latest issue here.

We work with young people and adults with a wide range of learning disabilities across England and Wales. To plan the right kind of support, we work closely with each individual and the people who are important to them. In this way, they get the support they want, in the way they want.

Although we support people across the whole range of learning disabilities, we have particular expertise in supporting people with more complex needs – including people who other agencies have not been able to support. We have a strong track record in supporting people to move on and to enjoy a better quality of life.